The fourth annual Midwest Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee seeks submissions for â€œFaking It!Production, Knowledge, Authenticity,â€ a graduate student conference to beheld February 20-22, 2009, in conjunction with the Center for 21st CenturyStudies and its 2007-09 research theme â€œPast Knowing.â€

This yearâ€™s theme calls upon scholars to interpret and consider variouslythe provocation of â€œFaking It!â€ Beyond the obvious copulatory connotationsof the theme, we are interested in exploring the broad ramifications oflabeling an act or object a â€œfake.â€ Thus we call for papers that considerif, how, and when the three terms of the subtitle interact in theory andpractice. Who is authorized to produce and what counts as authentic? Whatkinds of knowledge lead to â€œauthenticâ€ or â€œfakeâ€ productions? What are theimplications or consequences of employing strategies that â€œfake itâ€(plagiarism, parody, etc.)? How is authenticity produced? What does â€œfakingitâ€ produce? How does â€œfaking itâ€ interrogate or disrupt boundaries,especially those between discourse communities?

We aim to engage in a multi-day, interdisciplinary exploration ofpersistent tensions amidst the concepts of â€œfaking itâ€ and authenticity. Indoing so, we expect to question the binarizing marks of truth and realitythat are obsessively affixed to various cultural objects and acts. In turn,we will investigate how conscious or unconscious â€œfakingâ€ might shape,alter, and/or produce the very notion of authenticity.

Submissions that explore â€œFaking It!â€ from a diverse range of fields anddisciplines are encouraged. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

This yearâ€™s keynote will be a lecture by Berlin-based conceptual artistsRenata Stih and Frieder Schnock.Please submit a 250 word abstract, with title, for a 15-20 minutepresentation as an MS Word file attachment to: grad-conference_at_uwm.edu.Panel proposals for 75 minute sessions will also be considered (comprisedof three presentations); please submit an abstract for each presenter andindicate that you are proposing a panel.